The Coming Tide
by Elder Dragon Izanagi
Summary: The parasitic Flood has awoken in Equestria. No thinking creature is safe, perhaps even those with the powers of magic at their disposal.
1. Scientific Curiousity

They could scarcely see the large alien object at first. The dust and ash of the region was in particularly high concentrations within this locality. The pesky particles billowed around everywhere, causing a thin film of grit and grime to form on the edges of the exploratory team's goggles

Most of them had special wrappings around their hooves, both to protect them from particularly hot sections of terrain common in the Badlands, and to help them keep their goggle lenses clear.

This tedious process of moving, pausing to wipe one's eyepieces, then resuming movement had been repeating on and off for several hours, until at last it finally paid off. The dust storm settled within the inactive caldera the ponies were currently situated. The Badlands were finally rewarding the group for their diligent march with a detailed glimpse of their quarry.

"It's about friggin time we find that alien slag heap! This brimstone stuff is starting to really irritate my feathers!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed irritably under her hooded brown cloak, trudging alongside her friends through the volcanic sands as they approached the structure. "Couldn't we have just taken sky chariots here?"

Rainbow was answered by a groan of annoyance from one of the unicorns at the front of their procession. "One word, Rainbow Dash. _Dragons._".

On the mare's back, a purple-scaled young dragon chuckled as he craned his head to look at her, his face pulled into a impish grin. "Twilight's right, Rainbow. Not every dragon is charming and harmless like me." Being a dragon, Spike's body was well adapted to the harsh conditions of the region, and didn't truly need equipment.

"And not to mention adorable too!" Rarity cooed, as she kept pace with Twilight. Unlike most of the others, Rarity was not donning anything beyond an arguably over-the-top version of everyone else's cloaks. Her own shield spell ensured that no invasive particles could get caught in her mane, coat, or eyes.

Spike seemed as if he were about to slide off Twilight's back, smitten as he was. Muttering, Rainbow Dash rolled her violet eyes beneath her goggles. To Rarity's credit, she _was_ working as hard as she could to expand her shield spell over her friends, reducing the numbers of times that they had to stop and brush their goggles clear.

"Besides," Twilight continued, "Celestia and Daring Do want to keep this little discovery here a secret. A squadron of chariots would have almost definitely caught unwanted attention, and Equestria simply isn't prepared for groundbreaking proof that we aren't alone in the universe."

"Yeah, well whatever's inside better be worth our time. Maybe E.T. left behind some gold or diamonds, now that would make my day. Imagine all the cool flying gear I could buy with that!"

"Or all the parts of Sweet Apple Acres we could fix up." Applejack interjected behind Rainbow.

"And the parties and desserts!" Pinkie Pie added with a pleasant voice and a grin at Applejack's side. "Or instead, maybe we'll find a humongous refrigerator full of pudding! Or, even better, cupcakes!"

From Rainbow Dash's right, Fluttershy said, "Umm, Pinkie Pie, I don't think aliens would necessarily know what those even are. Well, that's my opinion anyway." Her soft voice was almost lost in the wind that swept through the caldera. "Different animals have different diets, especially when they're from very separate, very different habitats."

Pinkie Pie frowned slightly with skepticism. With her one-size-too-big polarized goggles, and the single lock of curly pink mane hanging visibly under her hood, she slightly resembled some weird species of disk jockey, or perhaps an eccentric inventor.

"_Pfft._ C'mon Fluttershy, what type of smart creature around hasn't heard of a cupcake? Everypony loves cupcakes!"

"Actually, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy's got a point. Whomever left this spaceship here could have eaten anything, evolved in anyway imaginable, and arrived from who-knows what kind of environment and planet." Twilight proclaimed.

"Somehow, that doesn't make me all too crazy to just waltz in there now, darling." Rarity remarked, keeping her eyes focused on their destination.

"Huh. Well besides, treasure and alien 'cuisine' aren't the real potential things of value here, anyway." Twilight smirked confidently under the shadow of her hood as she trotted. "It's knowledge, girls. We just might be making history with what we'll find in there."

Pausing briefly to remove their goggles and peer at one another, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie simultaneously murmured, "Eggheads..." If Twilight had heard them, she did not indicate it.

On her back, Spike grinned as if to say, 'tell me about it, I live with her'.

Staying quiet for a short awhile as they neared the site, the seven friends paused to take in the alien structure.

Precise to Twilight's words, the anomaly in the ashen cliff face of the caldera wall, was indeed a crashed alien starship. From their perspective, the group could see what they could readily identify as thruster or propulsion systems of some kind, as well as several pieces of debris, namely hull plating.

The ship's bow was buried deep into the rock, hidden from view. Her hull was a dull-silver or grey color, almost matching that of the terrain around it, were it not for the artificially smooth surface.

In terms of shape, the mysterious vessel almost resembled a beached orca. The stern ended in a fin-like dorsal protrusion above the housing for the propulsion systems, and the visible superstructure curved in on itself gracefully in an almost organic fashion as one's eyes neared the direction of the bow.

For the mares and the dragon, the craft was straight out of an Equestrian science fiction flick.

"Look at that! Even in such a state of disrepair, this ship has such grace!" Rarity remarked, gazing at the craft in wonder, an expression Twilight, Spike, and the others shared.

Rainbow Dash however, was the least impressed, waving the wreck off with a flick of her foreleg. "Oh, pshaw! Looks like an oversized tuna to me."

"Come on, I see Daring Do and her team's base camp. Let's get over there!" Twilight said.

"You know, one good thing about this whole expedition...at least I get to meet Equestria's greatest treasure hunter and adventurer in person! Oh my gosh!" Rainbow Dash resisted the urge to squee as she followed the others.

Picking up the pace, the group galloped onwards. Much to everyone's relief, the sand was barely to the tops of their hooves now.

Daring Do's camp was a rather casual affair in the shadow of the alien creation cast by the midday sun. A half-dozen yurts-a type of tent designed to keep out dust-were clustered around one large tent, which was the current destination.

All around the camp, bustling bands of archaeologists, workers, geologists, and scholars, greeted the seven newcomers enthusiastically. Most of their faces and bodies were obscured by cloaks, muzzle wrappings, and goggles of similar fashions. The friends inquired of them as to where the pegasus adventurer could be found. Unsurprisingly, it turned out to be the largest of the camp's structures.

The central yurt was roughly the size of a circus tent, and the entrance glowed from the large number of electric lights within. The light glare was almost blinding at first.

"Erm, Miss Daring Do? It's me Twilight Sparkle. My friends and I have arrived to assist you with exploring the alien derelict for Celestia." Twilight and the others wearing goggles had to adjust or remove them to adapt their eyes. Unfortunately, the goggle-less could only shield their eyes with their arms or forelegs.

"Ah yes, please come in. That wind must be driving you all nuts." A suave, cultured voice greeted back from somewhere in the room. The tent interior itself was full of work surfaces, examining tables, shovels, bookshelves, and seating, among other utilitarian items and archaeological paraphernalia.

When her eyes had finally adjusted, Twilight quickly scanned the room for the source of the adventurer's voice. Twilight found it in the form of a pegasus, whose coat was the same dusty golden brown of her and the others' wind cloaks.

Daring Do turned around from something she had been examining to meet her new guests in person. Bearing a noticeable resemblance to Rainbow Dash, Daring Do's mane and tail were a silvery black, and her violet eyes glowed with an inner tenacity and sense of adventure, that words alone would have trouble expressing.

Her ensemble consisted of an olive-colored buttoned-up khaki shirt, and a beige safari hat decorated with olive trim.

"If you haven't received the welcome wagon already from region herself, then let me be the first to say, welcome to the Badlands, Equestria's hottest tourist destination."

Spike hopped off Twilight's back and chuckled slightly, while Pinkie Pie suddenly burst out into a fit of furious giggling. Twilight and Rainbow Dash lifted their eyebrows at her, as the others sat back around various points near the entrance, watching Pinkie's theatrics. Daring Do similarly watched Pinkie Pie roll across the heavily rug-laden floor, her mouth in a confused 'O' shape.

"Thanks for the kind welcome, miss Do." Rainbow Dash replied finally.

Daring Do snapped back to attention and smiled. "Please, we're not a bunch of snobs sipping tea around here, well not me anyway. Just call me Daring."

Rainbow Dash looked as if she were about to faint at those last four words. She squeaked in reply, which merited a raised eyebrow from the pegasus adventurer.

Twilight returned Daring Do's smile and averted her gaze from Pinkie Pie. "Well then, Daring. I see you were just scrutinizing something, what exactly might it be if you don't mind me asking?" Twilight inquired curiously.

"Ooh, is it treasure? Please tell me its treasure of some kind!" Rainbow Dash added.

Still smiling, Daring Do took a step to the side and picked up a cylindrical object from the table. She held the thing in her hoof for all to see. "Not gemstones, I'm afraid. However, it's got to be something significant, of that, I am certain."

Rainbow frowned slightly in disappointment.

"May I?" Twilight said. Daring Do nodded and the unicorn summarily levitated the object out in front of her. The canister was made out of a transparent compound, either a type of glass, or something analogous to it. "This appears to be some kind of container, obviously."

Twilight flipped the cylinder over, and something moved around inside. By now, Pinkie Pie had long since ceased her antics, and both her and the others had come close to examine the object as well. Pinkie oohed-and awed as the strange contents flowed back and forth, like sand in an hourglass.

"Full of...a white-grey powder. What in the world might that be for?" Rarity added with perplexed curiosity.

"How strange." Fluttershy remarked.

"Where was this stuff discovered, ma'am? Inside the alien spaceship itself?" Applejack inquired.

Daring Do nodded to her. "The central chamber, actually. This stuff is everywhere in there." She motioned one of her wings towards another table nearby, which was covered end to end by neat rows of over a dozen more of the alien containers. "There has to be at least several thousand more we haven't moved out yet."

Pinkie Pie was unable to contain her patience any longer. "Twilight!" The unicorn turned to her with a brow raised. "Can we go see the spaceship now? Oh can we, can we huh? Please?"

"I could give them a quick look-see in the excavation site." Daring Do said. "There's no real danger, the ship appears to be of sturdy construction, despite its age."

This information was evidently sufficient enough for Twilight. "Hmm, I don't see the harm in it then. Why not?" Pinkie flashed Twilight a grin, and Daring Do playfully put her hat on Pinkie Pie's head, much to Rainbow's slight annoyance. "You all go on ahead, if you don't mind Daring, I'll stay here for awhile first and examine this powder. Spike, you mind staying here to help out?"

Spike groaned in disappointment, but nodded, joining her. Daring shrugged and retrieved her hat from Pinkie Pie as they made their way out. "Alright, suit yourself. We'll see you two inside later then."

"Have fun Spike!" Rarity called out. The dragon waved longingly at her as they all left.

While the ponies trotted further and further away from the central tent, Twilight heard Rainbow Dash's now faint voice ask, "Have you guys found anything else besides a bunch of old, weird jars inside the wreck?"

"Well, I guess will just have to see when we're all inside now, won't we?" Daring Do replied.

Now alone in the tent save for Spike and a few lingering teams of scientists, Twilight pick the cylindrical container up and wrapped up a few of its fellows in her lavender aura, before setting them all down on an empty artifact examination table.

"Spike, turn on that microscope for me, will you?"

"At your command, your highness." Spike grumbled, fumbling with the device's power button.

With the electronic microscope handy, Twilight carefully extracted a small sample of the powder onto a glass slide and viewed it at various magnifications. "Fascinating." She said to nopony in particular. "These appear to be nothing more than simple strands of primitive organic molecules, completely inert. Hmm, yet very fragile."

Glass snapped slightly, as Twilight accidentally zoomed in too far and cracked the slide. Picking it up in her telekinesis, a few rogue shards of the glass nicked her on the hoof, drawing a tiny amount of blood. "Ah, brother!" She groaned in frustration and disposed of the broken slide, then stepped away from the microscope.

"Such finesse, Professor Sparkle!" Spike jeered.

"_Not_ funny, Spike." Twilight quickly healed the scratches, then absentmindedly rubbed at her muzzle thoughtfully. "There we go. Now, what could these mysterious beings have needed desiccated organic powder for? Does this stuff even _do_ anything?"

Spike shrugged, having no theories of his own at the moment. A scientist near her shrugged as well. "Our understanding of this substance is next to zero, miss Sparkle. As far as we're concerned, the powder is nothing more than a scientific curiosity."

The statement only left more questions than answers in Twilight's mind, and her rubbing became more insistent. These questions, simply had to be answered soon, or else they would nag at her constantly for months afterwards. Recalling the time she had been tardy with a friendship report last year, Twilight would not allow such an occurrence of that type again.

"Has the powder been tested on a living creature yet?" Twilight said finally. The scientist seemed surprised by the suddenness of her inquiry.

"Uhh, well no, Miss. Given the unknown nature of the material, we're hesitant to do anything with it until more information is uncovered regarding its true nature."

Twilight's ears flattened on her head, and her neutral, curious expression sank into a scowl without warning. "Have you _rookies_ even tried checking any records aboard the ship? I'm fairly sure an advanced race of aliens wouldn't have been carrying cargo like this aboard their vessel without data on what it was, what it did, and what it was for."

Spike smirked slightly at the clueless-looking scientist. "She has a point with that, ya know."

This was turning out to be a bad afternoon for the scientist. "We have tried accessing their machines, Twilight Sparkle, but the um...the encryption..." He held up both hooves and bent them to form invisible quotations in the air. "We simply can't find a way around them yet."

Impatiently, Twilight sighed and resumed observation of the powder, still rubbing vigorously at her muzzle and chin, as if dealing with an itch. "Well, we all have to start somewhere. Princess Celestia left it up to me and whoever I brought with to assist you guys in learning more about these mysterious aliens and their ship. I'm not reporting back with nothing but some powder that for all we know does absolutely nothing!"

Twilight concluded by declaring, "Bring me something to inject this sample into. A small mammal, preferably. I'm not willing to put it into a pony yet. And have someone talk to Daring Do later about getting some of these canisters shipped to labs in Manehattan, Cloudsdale, and Canterlot. The more ponies we have working to ascertain this strange powder's secrets, the better."

"Oh, of course Miss Sparkle. I'll uh, I'll get right on it."

"Now if you'll all excuse me, I'll be joining my friends in exploring the spacecraft now. Come on Spike." Twilight replied, quickly putting her hood back on and donning her goggles.

"Coming."

Once the duo were out of earshot, the unicorn scientist turned to his four colleagues, who had watched the entire conversation. His face had a bemused expression. "Is it just me, or did Sparkle start having an abrupt change in behavior _after_ she made contact with that powder sample?"

They all shrugged nervously, before returning to their study of a small piece of alien metal plating. The first scientist rubbed at his mane and shrugged as well, returning his attention to his own work. "Meh. Probably just my imagination anyway."


	2. Xenoarchaeology

"Watch your step now, everyone. I may have said she was of sturdy construction, but this ship is still _unbelievably_ ancient." Daring Do cautioned as the six prepared to venture inside the alien wreck.

The entrance was a large, perfectly rectangular opening on the side of the hull. The ponies had navigated a length of catwalks and scaffolding to reach it, given the vessel's immense height. In all, the visible portion of the craft stood around at least four stories tall.

Everyone stood in place and gawked quietly for several seconds.

"So, how ancient exactly?" Pinkie Pie inquired. "One thousand? Ten thousand? A hundred thousand?" She started bouncing, anticipating a guessing game in the making. "Ooh, I know! Is it a_million_ years?"

"My archaeologists aren't sure exactly, Miss Pie. The best we've been able to triangulate is anywhere in the frame of five hundred thousand to five million years old." Daring Do finally replied, running a hoof inquisitively over the metal frame of the entrance.

Pinkie Pie gasped. "Darn, I nearly had it right!"

This merited a friendly chuckle from the pegasus adventurer. "Close enough." Daring Do said, patting Pinkie's shoulder.

"This ship in some ways is like Princess Celestia." Rarity remarked suddenly.

"How so?" said Applejack.

Rarity scanned the surfaces she could see from vantage point, as well as the exterior. "Well, it just seems so larger than life, what with its incredible age and thickened mystique."

"Yeah, I hear ya on the larger than life part." Applejack agreed, looking at the exterior from her point of view.

Being the first of the group to intrepidly set her hoof forward, Rainbow Dash ventured further inside. What greeted her eyes was a long and gloomy hallway, illuminated only by the welcoming gleam of portable spotlights and lanterns. Further on, lantern-based illumination was augmented by the faint bluish glow of alien light sources that symmetrically lined the floors and upper bulkhead walls.

Rainbow put a hoof to her lips and whistled. "Anyone home in there?" The only response she received was her own echo, to her slight discomfort.

Daring Do chuckled. "Nobody's been in here since dawn, we all have the place to ourselves."

"Umm, who's going in first?" Fluttershy asked.

"Erm, after you." Pinkie Pie said to Applejack.

Applejack shook her head. "Oh no, no! It would be rude for me to go in first! How 'bout you sugarcube?" She turned her green eyes on Fluttershy, who retreated under her mane.

"N...n..no thanks."

"Aww man, I can't believe you three are afraid of a _hallway!_ So it's a little gloomy, it's not like a bunch of monsters are lying in wait inside or something! Ya darn scaredy cats!" Rainbow Dash jeered, her bravado growing.

Daring Do watched their exchanges with a hint of amusement. "Why don't _you_ go in then, Rainbow Dash? I've already been in there at least seven times, so I know what to expect."

For Rainbow, this was enough. "Alright, I'll take point then." She trotted inside, and one by one the others followed her. "Here..here we go."

The metal felt strange on Rainbow Dash's hooves. Even through the hoof wrappings, she could sense an unnatural cold radiating from the plating, which sent sharp daggers of chill through her lower legs. The others noticed the temperature change as well.

"What on earth? Did we just find an alien portal linking the darn infernal Badlands to the Frozen North? Horse feathers!" Applejack muttered.

Pinkie Pie got some of the worst of it, shivering uncontrollably as she went on. "D...d..do you g..guys suppose this p..place needs a Winter Wrap...Up? Huh?"

"More like a giant furnace! It's never been this cold in the past." Daring Do said. "I'll have to get the engineers to get in here sometime and punch holes in the ship's dorsal structure, and cut windows into the sides."

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened at the prospect of managing to cut holes in such a massive structure, while Daring continued. "That way, the top decks will get some sunshine, and the sides will get that warm magma-heated air trickling in whenever the ash storms die down."

"It would also cut back on our electricity bill." Daring Do added jokingly.

While everyone continued onward, bantering about the interior environment and temperature, one of the party was trailing far behind.

Fluttershy was even more effected than even Pinkie Pie. The cold of the metal was like an impassable wall. Every time she tried to take another step further inside, she let out an involuntary squeak. Her friend's shapes were quickly disappearing up ahead. Without them, the metallic corridor was as silent as a tomb.

The pegasus wondered whether she should call out to them or keep trying to catch up. Fluttershy did not have enough time to decide. Something made a sound behind her.

Whatever it was, it touched her back and almost made her jump out of her own coat. "Fluttershy, what are you doing standing around here?"

It was just Twilight and Spike. Fluttershy felt her heart skip a beat, more from relief than fear. "Are you okay?" Spike inquired, his eyes widened.

Five seconds past before Fluttershy finally found her own voice. "Oh, I'm fine I, I guess. It's just the atmosphere of this place, it doesn't seem very safe at all."

"C'mon Fluttershy. You'll be fine, me and Spike will look after you. I'm sure whatever built this ship might have just preferred cold environments, nothing to fret over."

"But it's so cold in here, I couldn't even keep up with the girls."

"Look, tell you what, I'll cast a cloak of warmth spell over you. How does that sound?"

Fluttershy seemed to agree with the idea, a strong part of her still wanted to explore the ship and learn about its builders. "Okay, I guess."

"Good." Twilight itched slightly at her chin, then ignited her horn. For a brief moment, a red magical shell winked into existence around Fluttershy's body, before it became invisible. "Let's go catch up!"

The two ponies, with Spike on Twilight's back, galloped onwards to catch up with their friends. Going several feet, Twilight and company came at an intersection. Luckily for them, one of the two forks was sealed off. The alien door's controls glowed red, and a crudely hand-painted sign, obviously placed there by one of the dig crews, read _'restricted area-Engineering Bay currently unsafe'_

The other fork had its door opened, and a welcoming green light hung above them, set into the crown of the doorjamb. Following Twilight, Fluttershy found another hand-painted panel sign, this one with the words: _'To Elevator Shafts, Bridge, and Communications'._

"They must be on the bridge, Twilight." Fluttershy said, keeping pace.

"Sounds like where I would start too, let's hurry up then."

As they went, Spike took note of the architecture. "Say, Twilight, these hallways and doors are pretty huge! Do you think these were _big_ aliens who built this stuff?"

"I don't know Spike. That would be a reasonable hypothesis based on the observable evidence we currently have available. Very good." Twilight replied. Spike turned around to look at Fluttershy and beamed.

"I think the builders most have been bipedal. These doors could only be opened by somepony standing on their hind legs and reaching for the buttons with fingers." Fluttershy said, partially lost in thought now that the cold was no longer effecting her.

"Whoa, you mean like me?" Spike said, astonished at the possibility.

Fluttershy smiled sweetly. "Yes, but much bigger, Spike." The blue alien lighting on the ceiling above her cast her face in a slight glow, causing her eyes to radiate and twinkle in the almost otherworldly gloom.

"Alright, we're at the vessel's bridge." Twilight declared, bringing the trio to a halt.

"How do you know, Professor Psychic?" Spike quipped.

"Because, the sign says so!" Twilight snapped back, nearly causing the dragon to fall off her back. Both Spike and Fluttershy looked at her fearfully.

Realizing what she had done, Twilight's eyes widened. "Oh, I'm sorry you two, I just don't know what's come over me!" She itched at her muzzle fiercely. "I haven't been feeling right for almost half an hour now, maybe I'm just dehydrated from all this walking."

Fluttershy's fear changed to worry. "Let's hurry up and go talk to Daring Do about getting you some water then. If you think you're too sick to explore with us, then it wouldn't do at all to have you limping around and suffering!"

"If you need us to get you to the first aid tent back at camp, just say so!" Spike added.

Twilight wasn't willing to let some flu bug or head cold get in the way of potentially making the greatest discovery in the history of ponykind. "Really you guys, I'm fine. Just a little bit of water and I should be good to go!" She gave Fluttershy the best smile she could muster.

Fluttershy seemed only partially convinced, but nevertheless chose to believe her friend. She advanced ahead of the hesitant unicorn. The door to the bridge opened up for her, and they all entered.

Rainbow Dash, Daring Do, and the others noticed them in an instant. They were all clustered around a bank of control consoles that lay at the far end of the room. It was situated at the nose of the alien ship, and a single curving window above the consoles gave a view of nothing but ashen rock. Tables around the room and nooks in the walls held devices and instruments whose true functions or purpose the ponies could only hint at.

Massive pilot's chairs, each one larger than two ponies combined, rotated frantically as Rainbow rushed frantically past them towards Fluttershy. "What the heck were you doing back there? We were worried we _lost_ you!"

"It was too cold, so I stayed towards the entrance." Fluttershy murmured back. Rainbow Dash nodded in understanding, then finally noticed Twilight and Spike.

"Hey guys. You've missed some interesting stuff, even if it is for...well, eggheads." She darted back towards one of the chairs, still spinning, and caught it still with her foreleg. "Look at the size of these things! The E.T.'s must have been giants!"

Spike threw his hands in the air, jumping off Twilight's back. "That's what I think too! The more time I spend in here, the more I want to know what they must look like!"

"Perhaps _this_, might shed a bit more light on mystery, darling!" Rarity proclaimed, pointing her hoof at a specific piece of technology she had just noticed. Everyone besides Twilight and Daring Do crowded in to examine it.

Twilight asked for a canteen of water from Daring Do, giving Rarity's find only a passing glance in the process.

It was a flat metallic surface, but with one notable feature: the outline of a large hand possessing four digits and two opposable thumbs sat prominently at its center.

"Definitely bipeds." Fluttershy said.

"Perhaps they had all hands instead of hooves or feet, and walked on all fours like us!" Pinkie Pie suggested with a grin.

"That wouldn't make any sense at all, Pinkie! How in tarnation would they be able to balance on their hind legs when they gallop, erm sprint, whatever?" Applejack asked.

"Like a monkey maybe?"

"Well, maybe. I think ya just got me there."

"But what non-erect primate species would possess two thumbs on each hand?" Twilight said skeptically, having taking a long swig of water. "It would be a completely unnecessary vestigial limb."

Nobody had an answer to that, save for Daring Do. "Until we find a specimen of the crew, alive or dead, they might as well have been a race of living rocks for all we know." She waved them out of the room. "C'mon folks, next stop is the cargo bay."

Everyone filed out of the bridge and out into the triangular vestibule. To either side of them were twin doors with signs reading _'elevators'_. Daring led them to the door on the left.

"Elevators, but where the heck are the actual lifts?" Rainbow Dash inquired, looking into the shaft with confusion.

"Yeah, about that...We're not entirely sure if we should actually call them that. They carry you up and down, but not in the way you or I would expect." Daring Do stepped into the shaft, much to the other's chagrin. "Observe. Lift, down! Cargo Deck!" Instantly, Daring Do was levitated downward.

Perplexed, Twilight next stepped forward into the tubular shaft, peering upwards. Another deck laid above her, before the space terminated at a circular ceiling, which had a smaller circular opening cut into it. A small beam of quietly humming blue light emitted out from the aperture.

"Unbelievable, a form of gravity manipulation, _non magical!_"

"Are you sure about this, Twi?" Spike questioned warily.

"You better belief it, Spike! Well, here goes nothing then." Twilight said, entering the gravitational field. "Lift, down. Cargo Deck!" Obediently, the technology responded to her request, lowering her and Spike both.

Her voice quicky growing fainter, Twilight shouted up at them, echoing as she did so. "C'mon girls, its perfectly safe! Just don't go more than two at a time!"

Reluctantly, they all went after her. First Fluttershy, with a little 'encouragement' from Rainbow Dash, followed by the flier herself. Soon after, Applejack and Pinkie Pie entered the lift simultaneously. Pinkie Pie enthusiastically said. "Cargo Deck!"

They did not move, and hovered in the field. "Lift down." Applejack dead panned.

"And...Cargo Deck!" Pinkie Pie added. Her cheering as she descended could be heard all the way from the bridge.

The two earth ponies landed gently down at the cargo deck, resting atop the ship's ventral structure. Much to them and the others' surprise, this floor was far more illuminated by the alien light than previously visited areas.

Daring Do lifted her wings and wave them around dramatically like a salespony hawking their wares. "Well then. Ladies, behold!" She motioned towards the massive metal door sitting ajar in front of them.

"This area is what we call simply, the Cargo Deck Lobby. We obviously don't know what the aliens called it, since we can't access their mainframes yet, and the only way to enter this deck beyond the two gravity lifts is via the Engineering bay, which we cannot yet access either."

To the side of the open vault door was a much smaller room, separated from the lobby by a screen of glass, where another bank of computer consoles sat and another large chair rested. They holographic interfaces were dormant, awaiting interaction or commands from their likely long gone creators. Alongside the alien tech were bits and pieces of Equestrian origin the archaeologists, diggers, and engineers had left behind when their shifts ended, such as bits of scaffolding, more lanterns, field kits, tools, and yellow hard hats with goggles.

"Will you guys be able to access all that stuff soon, you think?" Rainbow Dash inquired.

"Sure, as soon as we get the proper explosives, muscle, and necessary equipment." Daring replied.

Dash grinned. "Awesome. I'd enjoy seeing how well this cold, evil butthead metal would stand against a couple pounds of TNT!"

"But what about the artifacts that could be damaged?" Twilight shouted in outrage.

Daring Do chuckled at the unicorn thinker. "Don't be ridiculous. This species obviously built their stuff to last. Only the hull will be damaged, and hey, we already have plenty of scrap to analyze, anyhow!"

The adventurer started walking forward. "Let's go see where they kept the rest of the booty, shall we?"

Rainbow Dash followed her in an instant, leaving behind a slight rainbow trail in her wake. Pinkie Pie hurried after the pegasi, bouncing. "Hey Dashie, wait up!" She called out.

Applejack watched them go and scoffed in mild exasperation. "Hero worship, ain't done nobody any good no how. C'mon girls, Ah'm itchin' to find out what else besides a bunch of containers of space salt and pepper these Extraterrestrials were shipping!"

"You and me both AJ." Twilight agreed, following.

"Perhaps they were hauling clothing, wouldn't that be interesting." Rarity said, sauntering in the other unicorn's wake.

"I bet the aliens had impeccable fashion sense, Rarity!" Spike suggested.

Fluttershy hurried after the unicorns, not wanting to be the odd one out again. Joining her friends inside, Fluttershy chanced a look around. The cargo hold was easily the largest section of the wreck, and for good reason. While just as well illuminated as the entrance lobby, the hold was still fringed with darkness in its farthest reaches, concealing its remaining secrets in shadow.

"Umm, girls? I've kinda got a bad feeling about this..." Pinkie Pie said, fear creeping into her voice faster than she could even bounce.

Daring Do raised an eyebrow at her. "What makes you say that, there's nothing harmful in here, or else we would have..."

Twilight lost her control against whatever was happening to her and snapped again. "Pinkie Pie, you always have a damn bad feeling about something!" Her normally pleasant voice degraded into little more than a bark.

To make matters worse for her, the itch had returned. "This bucking ITCH! Gnah, AHHH!"

Spike jumped off her back in an instant as Twilight started flailing about, itching frantically at her muzzle. "Twily!"

"Twi, what the hay is happening to ya?" Applejack shouted. Next to her, Pinkie Pie watched Twilight with a bizarre combination of confusion and worry.

"Daring, we might need a doctor in here!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"Uh, right! You all stay put, I'll be back with our head field physician!" Daring Do vanished through the vault door.

"Twilight, you're starting to scare us darling!" Rarity murmured, slowly backing away as if Twilight were becoming a rabid animal.

While the others slightly seemed to keep their distance, Fluttershy surprisingly rushed towards the distressed mare, seizing her with her wings. "Oh my goodness, oh my goodness! Hold still Twilight, I need to get a good look at you!" She looked at Rainbow Dash and Applejack. "Help me out here, _now!_" Her voice had an uncharacteristic amount of authority in it that was quite unlike the norm.

"Let me go Fluttershy!" Twilight growled. "I'm alright, it's just an itch!"

The duo rushed over. "Hold her hind legs down so she can't buck one of us! I need to get a good look at her face, chest, and forelegs!" Fluttershy instructed, ignoring her friend's fierce protests.

Reluctantly, both mares grabbed hold of the nearest leg in both of their own. This bought Fluttershy precious seconds to perform an impromptu medical examination. What she saw confounded, amazed, and frightened her all at the same time.

Spreading out from Twilight's hoof, up her leg and neck, and ending in her muzzle, was a massive rash, just barely visible beneath the unicorn's lavender fur.

This was no ordinary rash, for it glowed with a faint green light. The light was most intense at Twilight's hoof. It was almost as if something were slowly working its way through Twilight's circulatory and lymphatic systems, attacking her immune system and inducing the intense itch.

"Celestia have mercy, what is that stuff on her neck?" Applejack inquired, finally seeing the rash at an angle.

"It's nothing, just please let go of me!" Twilight said in a pleading voice, calming down slightly. Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other and Fluttershy with uncertainty. Fluttershy herself sighed in resignation.

In her normal soft voice, she said. "You can let her go girls." She relinquished her own wings from Twilight and backed away timidly. "Whatever it is, it's spreading through your body fast, Twilight!"

"I can control it, trust me." Twilight retorted in a shaky voice. Her mane was now frayed and erratic in places, and the glowing rash seemed to retreat slightly back down into her foreleg where it had started, pushed back by a spell Twilight was casting. "Let's just continue on searching this damn hold and find out what..."

Twilight was cut off by a loud metallic banging coming from the immense bulkhead wall to their far right, at the edge of the cargo hold. The girls and Spike tensed up, fearing potential monsters lurking about.

Instead, another resounding bang tore through the room, before a section of the bulkhead gave way under a gout of magical fire. Harsh sunlight spilled in, fighting intensely with the ancient alien lights that still miraculously functioned. With the new light, there accompanied a small cloud of smoke, ash, and dust from the ship.

Through the cloud, two unicorns and two earth ponies in explosive-proof suits and goggles trotted in, accompanied by Daring Do and a medical pony clad in white medical robes that clashed with the surrounding grey and black ground. "Miss Sparkle, are you alright?" Daring cried out.

"Yeah, mostly." Twilight shouted back.

"C'mon, you need to get a check up now! If you were exposed to any organic material on board this vessel, we need to know about it _now!_" The physician shouted urgently. "To the tent with me now, double time it!" He ordered again, stamping his hoof impatiently.

"You should probably go and do as he says, Twilight." Fluttershy suggested.

"Fine, fine." Twilight said in resignation. She parted from her friends and stepped out through the hole, which itself had apparently been an exterior loading bay door of some kind, emphasis on the past tense. Daring Do watched her pass her and nodded in approval, then looked to the stallions standing idle next to her.

"Alright gents, time to collect the other artifacts we have on today's quota! Girls, do you suppose you could help us out?"

Despite Twilight's strange behaviour, most of them were still willing, and even eager to continue exploration. They helped the dig crews haul out several more cylinders of the alien powder, as well as more interesting items of noteworthiness.

Daring Do sat down in the main command tent an hour later, writing down on the manifest the numerous new finds brought back to camp. At her back, Twilight was present, having been dismissed from the infirmary tent by the doctor with advise on plenty of bed rest and a special potion of herbs to fight the strange rash.

The unicorn was now working on injecting a powder sample into a test subject one of the resident scientists had graciously retrieved for her-a hardy breed of indigenous mole that thrived in the volcanic soil. Meanwhile, her friends chatted with each other nearby.

As for Daring Do, she continually scribbled away, reading her words aloud. "One cylinder containing alien egg of unknown origin, containment tier one. One metallic crate containing a spiraling onyx black statuette, possessing runic etchings not resembling any languages on known linguistic records, containment tier five." She sighed in boredom, wishing for alien gemstones. "One cylinder of luminescent organic yellow liquid, vapor emitting. Containment level two. No further findings to report today. End of artifact manifest, priority mail to Canterlot."


End file.
